Prochet's 19 points lead Niagara past rival Canisius, 78-70

Jan 31, 2019, 02:49 am

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. -- Marvin Prochet scored 19 points and Niagara built a 15-point lead through the first half and held on to post a 78-70 win over archrival Canisius in the oldest rivalry in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Wednesday night.

The Purple Eagles (11-11, 4-5) now have won four if the last five games in the series, which dates to the 1905-06 season. The loss snapped a three-game Canisius win streak.

James Towns hit a jumper with two seconds left to send Niagara into intermission with a 42-27 lead.

Jibreel Faulkner turned a 3-point play with 1:24 left to cut the Canisius deficit to two, 72-70, but the Golden Griffins did not score again.

Prochet hit 3 of 4 from long range and Dominic Robb scored 14 points and blocked three shots and now is nine away from tying the program record.

Jonathan Sanks scored 16 points off the bench to lead Canisius (8-12, 5-3).